There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane Read Free Book Online Page A

through the thick, black dust settled on the outside of the top of our dome. I can only imagine what a sky blanketed in stars would look like.
    Grandfather notices the tiny photo on my nightstand. “Where on earth did you get this?” I jump from bed, in an attempt to stop him, but he picks it up before I can reach him. He flips it over to the other side, reading the back, and his hand begins to tremble.
    “You don’t understand.” Panic makes my mouth so dry, I feel like I have to force each syllable out. “I saw the Outsider before they did. There were two of them. One came over to me from the outside of the dome—I think he wanted to tell me something. But he ran when the Order came. The other one had this photo of me. How is that possible?”
    “I don’t know,” his voice comes out barely louder than a whisper. Then silence. I shift from one foot to the next, wishing he would stop staring at the photo and just say something to me. Anything.
    “Could you go out for a bit? I need to speak with Grandmother.” I don’t move. This was not what I expected. He looks up at me, his eyes glossy and pleading. “Will you do this, please? For me?”
    My words spill out quickly. “I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to lie about the other Outsider. I should have told you sooner. I should have reported it to the Order.”
    “No,” he advises, giving me a reassuring smile. “You did the right thing. Go on. Now.” There’s a strain in his voice at the end of his sentence.
    I’m not going to make him ask me again. I grab my notebook, and leave our apartment building. Grandfather knows something, I’m sure of it. The other thing I’m sure of is that Grandmother will be livid with me.
    After a few blocks, my feet stop moving, and I look up. They’ve taken me to a familiar place—Jak’s home. It’s late, but his bedroom light is on. When I had to get farther from home than down the hall to Xara’s apartment, Jak’s place was my only option. Though his mother never approved of her only child hanging with two girls from the apartment districts, she looked the other way because of our parent’s positions in the dome. For me it was the ultimate escape. Where better than the townhouses of the business district to make me feel like I was in another world?
    Jak answers my knock. Surprise crosses his smooth forehead and blue eyes, but his thin lips break into a smile. “Nat, what are you doing here?”
    “Are you free? I needed to get away.”
    “I was working on some algorithms for work, but that can wait. Are you okay?”
    I nod and follow him inside, up to his bedroom; a place where we three friends spent many an afternoon reading books, playing games, and hanging out. It feels good to be back inside the Manning house. Jak’s parent’s bedroom door is already closed, so it’s just Jak and me. All alone.
    “I can’t remember the last time you were here.” Jak laughs. He walks over to his desk and closes a notebook filled with numbers and calculations. I sit on his bed and lie back against his pillows. His desk creaks against its old joints, as he leans on it. Not even the business district gets new furniture.
    “Jak, what is the worst thing you’ve ever done?”
    “I don’t understand.”
    Of course he doesn’t. Jak was born to serve the dome. He’d never be caught skulking in the Outer Forest, hauling around forbidden objects, like his dead mother’s work notes, or interacting with Outsiders. Not Jak. He was squeaky clean.
    I sigh. “Why do you want to be a Delegate?”
    He crosses his arms against his chest. “I want to work at the Axis—not as a Member of the Order, of course.”
    “Yeah, but why ?”
    “To make the dome a better place. Hopefully I get to work somewhere in Policies one day.”
    “You’ve always known.” I lean on my side, watching him stand at his desk. “Not me. I still have no idea.”
    “You just need something that excites you.” His cheeks flush.
    “Nothing excites